Aika: So, here we are again. Another chapter. Whoever guesses who's the other person in the drawing will get a cyber cookie.


View Disclaimer on previous chapters. Thank you.


Guardian Angel

Chapter 6 - Picture of Sorrow


"Gem, Powerful Gem..."

The redhead swayed, his dark green eyes rolling drunkenly to look at everything around him.

"DIE KITSUNE!"

The redhead dodged, his finger making a trail in the air, a trail of blue fire.

"Why don't you die?" Another man whined, holding onto his chest.

"Powerful, powerful Gem..." he murmured, unseeing, as he brought a chipped blade to cleanly cut off the head of a third man.

The woman that watched them had void black eyes.

The redhead had an angular face, his eyes resembled leaves of a forest tree in the night, and his hair was rust red and caked with blood. His body and face hinted at 25 human years, but his eyes spoke of more than a hundred of experience. He wore a gold collar with a blue gem resting on his Adam's apple, iron bracelets encased his wrists, broken chains dangling, and his chest bare. He wore no shoes and his pants and the tunic held at his waist throughly ripped and dirty with blood, grime and soil.

The black-eyed woman smiled.

"Come here, kitsune..." she called softly, holding out a hand to him.

Ignoring the man he had just impaled, the redhead stepped up to her, bare-feet making no sound and leaving no marks. His rust-colored tail swished like a cat's behind him, and his ears were pointed.

"You are such a good little warrior..." she purred as he approached, allowing her to trace his face and hair with her hands. She scowled as she came upon the tie on his waist-length hair.

"Why do you insist on keeping this?" she murmured, tugging at it and not expecting an asnwer, "It's all ripped, and it looks so old..."

"Please, Mistress," he murmured, his eyes unfocused, "Just leave it there."

"Fine," She sighed angrily, "keep it. Now go. You remember what you have to do, don't you?"

"Yes. Make them fail..." and under his breath, as he walked away, "And give it back to her..."


Was this really supposed to be this boring?

Kagome sighed. Well, I could always go poke Miroku or something. Besides, where could that idiot have gone? she glared at the empty chair in front of her.

Kurama's desk.

She huffed, looking at the teacher droning about things she already knew (some of which she had seen and experienced) and wondering when the students would kill the History teacher. She ignored her right hand as it doodled on her notebook.

Kurama better not have gone to a mission or something... I wish Kiraka had remembered to give me something to know when he did.

Huffing again and leaning back on her chair, she absentmindedly looked at what her left hand was doing.

It was holding a paper down. Okay.

And her right hand...

Was doodling on the paper her left hand was holding. Okay.

...what was that stupid hand doodling, anyway?

She leaned forward to see. Her eyes widened.

On one side of the paper, was a drawing of Minamino sitting on a ledge and smiling, a shadow of a kitsune standing behind him with it's backs to the viewer. The kitsune's tail was loosely wrapped around the redhead's neck, and Minamino didn't seem to notice.

Correction, Kagome thought, wrinkling her nose as she noticed his hand was both holding up his head and caressing the white tail, he pretends not to.

The other side of the paper scared her. It was of a small boy, not older than 10 by human standarts, with a bushy tail and a blank face. His wrists, ankles, waist and neck were encased in iron, many chains dangling from each and tying him to the small room he was confined in.

Kagome gulped. She didn't know this boy.

But then, she thought, trying to hold in a sob, why do I feel the need to mourn for him, to cry when he is obviously hurt?

"Teacher," a soft voice called, "Tenshi-san doesn't look very well. May I accompany her to the infirmary?"

"You may," the teacher had taken one look at the shaking black-haired girl and nodded to the other student.

The boy rose, pushing his glasses on his nose and tapping Kagome on the arm. She gasped, clutching her heart and turning her head to him.

"Come on," he whispered, "let's get you out of here."

She nodded, clutching the notebook to her chest and rising, shaking. Another student rose and held her arms to prevent her from falling. The one that was to take her to the infirmary quickly gathered her school things into her bag and shouldered it, taking her left arm and leading her out.

"Are you alright? You look like you're gonna cry any moment now..."

And he wasn't disappointed.


Yusuke tapped his fingers against his arm as he kept them crossed. Behind him, Hiei was glaring at Koenma, Kuwabara was rubbing his temples and Kurama had a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean with 'they might be at it again'?" Yusuke tried again, his patience already fleeing.

Koenma sighed as he paced in front of them in adult form.

"Angels," he growled after a few moments of low mumbling, "Stupid, all-knowing, arrogant Angels!"

His outburst made Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei forget their anger and stare at him in astonishment, event though Hiei didn't really look any different from usual. Kurama's face was blank.

"Angels?" Yusuke called incredulous, "wait, you mean those Western guys with wings?"

"Yes," Koenma ground out through his teeth, "Reikai hasn't found their Realm yet, and unfortunately... they think they can interfere with anything. Because of them, deaths that were scheduled to happen were completely dodged!" he raised his arms in fury, "Do you know how frustrating that is?! Because anyone, and I mean anyone, when under their protection cannot die! Be it naturally, killed or whatever!" Koenma clutched at his head in despair.

"Well, damn," Yusuke mumbled, "That goes to show that I never had one."

"Actually," Koenma turned to him with an acidic tone, "You had one when you were quite small. I'm sure you remember falling into a river with Keiko chasing you?"

Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "Yeah..."

"You were supposed to get pneumonia, it would interfere with something in your bloodstream and become a fatal illness. A fatal illness impossible of being cured because you were the only one to ever have it, and for other people it would be just pneumonia."

The four stared.

"What..." Yusuke gulped, "What happened to the angel..?"

"Fled before we caught him," Koenma growled, "They absolutely love to wreck our files, we had to make another schedule for your death, Yusuke, and we were surprised to find that you'd die killed by a demon. And suddenly were surprised that you get turned into a demon and almost impossible for another one to kill you!"

Koenma hid his face in his hands, leaning against his desk.

"You were always a stain in our files," he raised his head, tired amber eyes boring through the teen, "And in a moment of rebelion against my father, I wanted you working with me. He never got over that..."

"You make it sound like some kind of drama," Yusuke said dryly, covering up how his chest constricted, hurt.

"Yusuke," Koenma murmured, "You're impredictable. Be the way you act, be what you're thinking or learning, or even your fate... everything about you is unpredictable. My father loved being in control. I never had much of an issue... to the point you grew on me."

Yusuke was left speechless.

"I'm saying I like you... but this isn't a love confession, you know," Koenma said with a wry grin.

"It better not be..!" Yusuke replied with a strangled voice, "I have a girlfriend!" he exclaimed pathethically.

It only served to make the others stare at him.

"What!"

"So, now you admit that Keiko-chan is your girlfriend?" Kurama asked with a wide smile.

Yusuke spluttered, and tried to say something.

"Better stop now before you choke on your foot, Urameshi," Kuwabara stated with a smirk.

The half-demon's mouth clicked shut.

"Well, about angels, please keep an eye open around you... it won't be easy to find one, trust me," the half-god sighed, "Now, there's another matter... a few demons crossed from Makai to Ningenkai, and they're up to no good. Could you guys investigate it? I don't know what they want, but they've been gathering supplies here and there. Usually that precedes a world-destroying ritual..." Koenma finished with a sour look.

The four nodded.

"Just make sure to give us a portal that lands near wherever it is," Yusuke commented dryly.

Koenma chuckled nervously.


Chapter 7 - Ties of Madness